Catholics hopeful on abortion, health policy after Kennedy’s confirmation as HHS secretary

 

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 16, 2025 / 07:30 am (CNA).

Prominent U.S. Catholics are expressing optimism after Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent confirmation as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), following an arduous confirmation process which saw him challenged on several issues key to the Catholic Church.

Kennedy, himself a professed Catholic, has faced intense scrutiny from both sides of the aisle for his controversial views on vaccines, abortion, and public health policy since President Donald Trump nominated him to serve as head of HHS.

That position oversees 10 agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Ultimately, Kennedy was confirmed on Thursday by a 52-48 vote that was split along party lines with the exception of Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, the only Republican to vote against him.

Vaccines and medical ethics: where Catholics stand

Since his nomination and throughout his confirmation hearings, Kennedy took the most heat from Democratic senators for his views on vaccines. But some Catholics have praised Kennedy’s commitment to vaccine safety.

Sister Deidre Byrne, who was denied a religious exemption to the COVID-19 vaccination mandate for health care workers in August of 2021, told CNA that “speaking both as a physician and religious,” she was “thrilled” by Kennedy’s confirmation.

“Medically, I agree with [Kennedy’s] concerns,” Byrne, who is widely known as Sister Dede, said via email. She cited “vaccines and the lack of proper research, and then forcing, for example, the COVID-19 vaccine, which had no scientific basis behind it and [has] injured thousands.”

Byrne expressed gratitude over Kennedy’s pledge to conduct studies on the safety of abortion pills such as mifepristone, which were partially  deregulated under the Biden administration.

“Now they are giving this abortion pill online without a physician’s evaluation or ultrasound,” she said, describing the practice as “extremely dangerous and malpractice.”

“So I thank God for President Trump and I thank God that [Kennedy] was confirmed to run HHS,” Byrne concluded.

A representative for the largest collective of Catholic healthcare workers, Catholic Medical Association (CMA), echoed Byrne, telling CNA the organization is looking forward to collaborating with Kennedy and the Trump administration.

“The Catholic Medical Association looks forward to working closely with the Trump administration and Secretary Kennedy in a shared mission to promote and protect ethical medicine,” CMA Board Chairman of the Health Care Policy Committee Dr. Tim Millea told CNA.

“CMA is committed to foundational principles of health care: the inherent dignity of every human life from conception to natural death; the biological reality of two sexes; and, the protection of conscience rights and religious freedom for health care professionals,” he continued.

“We are anxious to see Secretary Kennedy’s attention to correcting HHS policies that have been in direct conflict with optimal and rational health care methods over the past several years.  It is time to return to medicine practiced as it should be, and not directed by ideology.”

Optimism: How Catholics are responding to Kennedy’s shifting views on abortion

Despite Kennedy’s past support of abortion, many pro-life Catholics are now celebrating his confirmation after he pledged to carry out the Trump administration’s pro-life agenda as head of HHS.

“There was a lot to appreciate in RFK Jr.’s testimony during the confirmation process,” said Students for Life Action President Kristan Hawkins. “A highlight of [his] very intense conversations with members of the U.S. Senate was the fact that he and President Trump see abortion as a tragedy and that they are looking at the real and deadly impacts of the abuse of agency power to force chemical abortion pills on the market.”

“I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy,” Kennedy stated during a hearing with the Senate Finance Committee. “I agree with him that we cannot be a moral nation if we have 1.2 million abortions per year, I agree with him that the states should control abortion.”

“I’m going to serve at the pleasure of the president, [and] I’m going to implement his policies,” he said, revealing that Trump had expressed his desire for Kennedy to end late-term abortions, enact protections for conscience exemptions, and end federal funding for abortions in the U.S. and abroad.

Kennedy also spoke out against the use of fetal tissue for stem cell research during the hearing, telling Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, “I will protect stem cell research, and today stem cell research can be done on umbilical cords.”

“You don’t need fetal tissue,” he added.

Kennedy has vowed to combat nationwide food health crisis

A major touchstone of Kennedy’s vision for transforming health in the U.S. is the fight to reduce consumption of highly processed foods, chemicals, additives, and seed oils.

The founder of a growing grassroots movement among Catholics spoke to CNA on how Kennedy’s confirmation could boost support for local farms and homesteads.

Michael Thomas, co-founder of the Catholic Land Movement, is enthusiastic about Kennedy’s confirmation, telling CNA in an interview that he looks forward to the new HHS leader’s proposed public health reforms and the benefits they could have for small farms.

“The Catholic Land Movement is excited about the rhetoric we’ve seen from RFK around American health and the prohibition of harmful additives and processes,” he said. “However, it is not enough to just restrict the bad, we must support the good.”

According to Thomas, there is much to be hopeful about with Kennedy’s confirmation. Giving the example of Kennedy’s desire to replace seed oils with beef tallow in deep-fryers across the U.S., Thomas pointed out that a new market could be created for small American farms to provide the alternative.

“As an organization on the front line of small farms and American Homesteads, we are enthusiastic to work on a restoration of local and regenerative agriculture with this administration and we are eager to see and hopeful to participate in detailing that policy course,” he added.